A second Indonesian earthquake struck near the city of Padang Thursday as the death toll rose to at least 529. Some residents, fearing aftershocks, sought safety outside despite monsoon rains.
As President Obama pitched his hometown’s bid to host the Summer Games, the first American president to do so, he put his own credibility on the line.
AP - Combining hometown pride and political muscle, President Barack Obama lobbied Olympic leaders on Friday to give the 2016 Summer Games to Chicago, saying a nation shaped by the people of the world "wants a chance to inspire it once more."
AP - Health care legislation backed by President Barack Obama all but cleared a major hurdle in the Senate early Friday as Democratic liberals and moderates on a key committee closed ranks behind the most sweeping set of changes in a half-century.
AP - Rescuers pulled a teenager alive from her collapsed college about 40 hours after a powerful earthquake devastated western Indonesia, while elsewhere they heard cries for help Friday from people trapped under a collapsed hotel.
"Late Show" host David Letterman told his audience Thursday night that he'd had sexual relations with members of his staff and that he revealed those liaisons during grand jury testimony for a case involving an attempted extortion.
President Obama urged the International Olympic Committee on Friday to pick his hometown of Chicago as the host of the 2016 Games, saying the city represents the American dream as well as the Olympic spirit.
It isn't clear whether the United States will ever be able to declare victory in Iraq, the top U.S. commander there said Thursday. "I'm not sure we will ever see anyone declare victory in Iraq, because first off, I'm not sure we'll know for 10 years or five years," Army Gen. Ray Odierno told reporters at the Pentagon.